Editorial: Many paths to heaven

Of all the dogma that has sustained the religious through the millennia, none is a more problematic in the 21st century world than this: Our faith is the one true path to heaven.

The MetroWest Daily News

Of all the dogma that has sustained the religious through the millennia, none is a more problematic in the 21st century world than this: Our faith is the one true path to heaven.

It is a principle that has launched centuries of religious warfare, that has made holy places into battlegrounds, that has split countless families and caused untold heartache. Born in an age when religious absolutism girded tribal unity against hostile neighbors, it is a principle that makes it difficult for people of different faiths to live together in communities where all beliefs are respected.

It's also a principle that Americans, who have been working on religious pluralism for 300 years, seem to have left behind.

A new survey by the Pew Research Center finds that 70 percent of Americans believe "many religions can lead to eternal life," compared to 24 percent who said "my religion is the one true faith."

Here in Massachusetts, the gap is even wider, 79 percent to 15 percent.

This page doesn't take sides in theological disputes, but we recognize that all have an interest in the way religion, culture and politics intersect. Faith is part of the glue that binds communities together, but it can also pull them apart. The belief that there are many paths to heaven may contradict some religious orthodoxies, but it has great value in making religious pluralism work.

By embracing the modern concept that individuals may choose their own paths to salvation, Americans have made religion something that unifies, rather than divides them. We can only hope it spreads to other parts of the world.